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With a change in Employee Provident Fund laws the process to make a partial withdrawal from the EPF account has become simpler

Single is best

A single-page composite EPF claim form by Employee Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) will serve as a common one for all kinds of withdrawal requests

Bye-bye documents

Breathe easy as there is no need to attach all those tedious documents along with the withdrawal form; you don’t need to procure a certificate from the doctor in case of medical treatment or sale deed in case of purchase of house; a self-declaration included in the claim form is more than sufficient

Home sweet home

You can now use up to 90% of your EPF money for construction of flat or purchase of land, instead of just 36 or 24 months of salary savings that you could withdraw earlier for the purpose; to do this, you should have contributed for a minimum of 3 yrs & made 9 other EPF account holders members of cooperative society through which you intend to purchase the house

Home loan EMIs

By inserting a new paragraph 68 BD to the EPF scheme 1952, the EPFO allows you to pay monthly instalments from your EPF money to a bank or any lending agency against any outstanding loan in your or your spouse’s name; however, both of you should be members of EPFO & have served for at least 3 yrs

Don’t withdraw

It may be tempting to dip into your EPF corpus but it’s not recommended; here's why

>EPF withdrawals can be taxed if withdrawn before 5 yrs of service

>EPF enjoys EEE (Exempt Exempt Exempt) status; the interest earned on your EPF is compounded annually; with a matching contribution from employer, it has the potential to make you a ‘crorepati’ upon remaining invested for long

> Dipping into the funds means you need to look for alternative means to fund your retirement

Source: Media reports

Story: Priya Kapoor

With a change in Employee Provident Fund laws the process to make a partial withdrawal from the EPF account has become simpler

Single is best

A single-page composite EPF claim form by Employee Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) will serve as a common one for all kinds of withdrawal requests

Bye-bye documents

Breathe easy as there is no need to attach all those tedious documents along with the withdrawal form; you don’t need to procure a certificate from the doctor in case of medical treatment or sale deed in case of purchase of house; a self-declaration included in the claim form is more than sufficient

Home sweet home

You can now use up to 90% of your EPF money for construction of flat or purchase of land, instead of just 36 or 24 months of salary savings that you could withdraw earlier for the purpose; to do this, you should have contributed for a minimum of 3 yrs & made 9 other EPF account holders members of cooperative society through which you intend to purchase the house

Home loan EMIs

By inserting a new paragraph 68 BD to the EPF scheme 1952, the EPFO allows you to pay monthly instalments from your EPF money to a bank or any lending agency against any outstanding loan in your or your spouse’s name; however, both of you should be members of EPFO & have served for at least 3 yrs

Don’t withdraw

It may be tempting to dip into your EPF corpus but it’s not recommended; here's why

>EPF withdrawals can be taxed if withdrawn before 5 yrs of service

>EPF enjoys EEE (Exempt Exempt Exempt) status; the interest earned on your EPF is compounded annually; with a matching contribution from employer, it has the potential to make you a ‘crorepati’ upon remaining invested for long

> Dipping into the funds means you need to look for alternative means to fund your retirement